Memories of a Nightmare Part One
by Maya Beebop
Summary: A girl relives a childhood memory from inside the memory itself!
1. Chapter 1

I, better known as Jaq, was bored. Everything's meaning was lost in the swirling torrent of everyday life. I felt nothing more than the want to take walk in the woods.

It was a brilliant fall day. The trees were leafless and the ground was unusually free of the tiny annoyances. Ground dirt and dead grass were all that remained in the forest.

I walked all morning, and it was mid-afternoon before I started realizing where I was. A circle of trees caught my eyes in the distance. It looked to be about seven giant specimens, but I could catch glimpses of color in the ring. I made towards them. 

I was right. There _were_ seven trees, each with a different holiday-type symbol painted on them. Fireworks, a shamrock, a turkey, a Christmas Tree, an Easter egg, a heart, and a Jack-O-Lantern, the latest catching my attention. I was intrigued with the artisanship. They were beautifully painted to perfectly resemble their Holidays. I reached towards the carved pumpkin…

Suddenly, the nose turned! What I thought to be merely a triangle of paint was really some sort of knob! Then, the entire picture swung outward, revealing nothing more than the hollow shell of the giant tree it was "painted" on! 

Well, to say I wasn't startled would be a lie. But I had believed in so-called   
"Other Worlds", which would pop up whenever you weren't looking and you'd fall right in without you ever knowing it. This seemed the perfect opportunity to explore. After all, what was left for me in _this_ plane of reality?

My answer to myself was prompt.

_Nothing_.

I peeked in. Looking up, then down, I saw naught in either direction but blackness. The void blended with the dark and went on into eternity.

_Just jump in…It'll be worth it…_

I jumped.


	2. Chapter 2

I blacked out on the way down. By the time I came to, I could tell I wasn't in Kansas anymore, Toto.

I had landed on a pile of leaves. No surprise there. After all, it was a few dry leaves that had swept out of the tree and help to suck me in and down the cavity.

Of course, this was nothing compared to what I saw next. A skeleton!

Not just any normal one, but this one was dressed in a black suit and walking. SINGING! I caught faint snatches of words, but I couldn't concentrate. I was making sure I was still alive.

_"Oh somewhere deep inside of these bones…_

"I'm the master of fright, and a demon of light…

"Does nothing for these empty tears…"

This last line I understood came right before this skeleton walked sadly down a hill _that uncurled under his feet_ and into the nearby forest.

I simply wouldn't believe my eyes. But I couldn't stay long. A seemingly _sewn together woman_ was making her way towards the gate of the cemetery I had landed in the middle of. The gate was merely three feet away, so I hid myself under a pile of leaves. The thing passed by without seeing me, so I relaxed. Everything seemed so…familiar…

But I couldn't place it. It was a memory from years ago. Perhaps a theme park? No, it couldn't be. These creatures were too…fake…

Then it hit me. _The Nightmare Before Christmas!_ The movie! Everything was just as the movie went! The trees, the cemetery, Sally the Ragdoll…and Jack.

I remembered, deep in my heart, that once I would have given anything to be where I was right now. To be on the same plane of existence with the clay skeleton. 

But back then, obviously physics wouldn't allow me to actually meet Jack, much less _be_ with him.

After all, back then, I hadn't just _liked_ Jack.

I had _loved_ him.


	3. Chapter 3

I was past that now. Or was I? Had I merely buried my feelings to keep myself from pain? Keep myself from truly realizing that I could never actually "see" Jack? He was just a made-up character. He was _fake_. He didn't exist. He was…

_Amazing. Isn't that right, Jaq?_

My own subconscious was working against me. It just wasn't possible! It couldn't be! I shook her head back and forth in denial. NO!

If I couldn't do it then, when I _really_ wanted him, how could I hope for it NOW? When I'd buried him years ago!

My thoughts were stopped short when I saw my hands. They were so…not real! They looked they were made of…

Clay.

The thought hit me like a ton of bricks. _I'm not real anymore. I'm in THEIR world. Made of clay, like the models…_

I felt her face. Made of soft, malleable clay. It kept its shape like normal skin, but it was clay all the same.

There was a small pool of water on the cobblestones outside the gates. It was dark, so I decided to risk it. I looked into it in amazement.

Normally, I never wear makeup, but obviously some had been applied on the journey, for my eyelids were a rather fetching shade of plum purple, to match my flared-sleeved shirt. My lips were as black as pitch, and looked very good with my dark brown hair highlighted in red, black, and purple. My fingernails were now an interesting swirl of purple and black. My black, short skirt looked very gothic with my knee-high lace-up combat boots and black stockings. Apparently, word never got to the makeover specialist in the tunnel that I wasn't a Goth.

Or was it just the effect of Halloween Town?

Oh well. Perhaps it was for the better. Now I wouldn't stand out so much in the town when I investigated.

Or so I thought.


	4. Chapter 4

_Of course_ I thought. I _would_ be stuck in Halloween Town with every citizen staring at me and Jack _would_ be in Christmas Town. _It's all in the stinking movie._ _You should KNOW_.

I ended up in the town dungeons, which lay in the basement of the Town Hall. With my hands tied up behind me, I could clearly hear the creatures upstairs debating over what they were to do to me. 

"She's an outsider! I say we EAT her!" I heard the Werewolf say.

"No! We should feed her to the vampires!" I could hear them mumbling in approval above me.

"Now wait a minute. We should wait for Jack! He'll know what to do!" The Mayor suggested. Everyone agreed wholeheartedly.

_If I ever get out of here, I'll be sure to thank the Mayor…depending on what happens to me_, I told herself.

Night passed into day, and I even pinpointed the exact second Jack came rolling into town on the snowmobile, even though I could see nothing through the small barred window set near the stone ceiling of the prison.


	5. Chapter 5

It was late when the Mayor entered the prison with Jack. I was half-conscious. It had been hours since I lost grasp on where I was.

"So, what did you say she did?" Jack asked.

The Mayor croaked, "We found her in the town. She's from the _real world_. And you know what we have to do!"

Jack seemed doubtful. He thought he recognized her…

"Are you sure? I just can't say that we kill her, it may not have been her fault. But I _do_ say that we take precautions. Put her in my dungeons. I'll take care of this."

***

The next time I woke, I was lying on a pile of straw in a completely new place. I also realized that Jack was staring her in the face.

I jumped, but then discovered my feet were bound, as were my hands. I sufficed by drawing myself as far away from his prying eyes as humanly possible. That of course wouldn't be enough in this world, though.

He was curious. I could tell. But what he was curious about, I _couldn't_ tell.

After a few minutes of silence, Jack stood up and walked out. I was left to my guesses and memories.

***

"I just can't seem to remember…there was a line of verse, but what was it? I just _know_ it has to do with whoever it is in my basement…" Jack muttered in his tower. Zero stood by, watching. 

A line of poetry floated in Jack's head just then.

_When love unites with portal near_

The broken one falls into queer

What once was lost, now is found

'Tis up to lost one to rebreak ground.

_That's it!_ Jack knew it. Once, a long time ago, he was told this: if a being loved another being on a different plane of reality, not just loved, but truly and undyingly devote themselves, some sort of obscure portal would open allowing the two to meet. 

And Jack remembered, a long time ago, that a jolt went through his skull while walking in the woods. It must have been when they were both in the same place at the same time! Just in different "dimensions", so to speak.

It was a known fact that in their world, when one in the real world somehow managed to have feelings for them, they were let known somehow.

Jack had been let known a long time ago. The feeling was always with him, any and every time. Until just a few years ago, when it began to dull, then went away altogether. He was left miserable. Jack felt as if a part of his soul had been ripped out forever. Just faded away.

But could it really and truly be that person who had once loved him? Without ever meeting him? _Down in the dungeons, right now?_ The person who held that piece of his soul…

Jack couldn't wait a moment longer. He raced down to see for sure…


	6. Chapter 6

"This is unreal…" 

I wriggled against my bindings. I couldn't just _sit_ here. I had to get free, and-

There! One manacle dropped off. The rusty old thing was just waiting to break. I struggled against the second…and it too fell.

Now for the leg irons. Those were simple enough. Just the turn of a key and I was out!

I made for the stairs. It was night now, I saw through a tiny window near the ceiling. I silently opened the door, and saw the open entryway…with no sign of anything living. Tiptoeing out, I ran for the cemetery. There'd be plenty of places to hide.

The crinkle of leaves was a welcome sound. I collapsed against a tombstone and breathed in. But my relaxation didn't last long. I heard someone…on the other side of the tombstone! I held my breath and didn't move an inch. It's always been a talent of mine to sit in complete silence. No one would know I was there if they didn't see me sit down.

"I know you're there. And I want to ask you something."

It was him. Of course.

"What do you want?! Why am I here?" I demanded hastily.

He didn't answer. Instead, he burdened me with a question of his own.

"Was it you who took part of my soul? I…know this sounds stupid, but…_was_ it you?" He spoke softly, almost sadly.

"I…I don't know what you're-…"

"Oh, spare me the stories. You know why you're here. I've…felt so _empty_ since that time long ago. I haven't been able to concentrate. All I've been hoping for the past few years is that I'd find her who bonded with me." Jack was so overcome with grief that his voice was slow and labored.

"And now, I'm afraid it _isn't_ you…and what will I do if it's not? I don't think I could take the disappointment. What if you're just another thing to live here? To celebrate Halloween with us? To "update" us, persay. What then?"

I realized I had stopped holding my breath. Just to _hear_ him speak was a pleasure I'd forgotten. I gave myself over to my emotions for just a split second, then hid them once again.

"I…I felt it! Just for a moment, but more strongly than I've ever felt it before! Can it be?!" Jack stood. 

He turned around and grabbed my hand. Astonished, I stood with him and obediently followed until we reached the base of Spiral Hill.


	7. Chapter 7

We stood at the tip of Spiral Hill. Jack looked at me with sadness in those eye sockets. Yet I knew there was something there, staring longingly at me.

"Well? Go on. If it really is you, then it'll uncurl and you'll be able to walk down it."

I hesitated. After all, what if it _wasn't_ me? What if…

But it was too late. I felt a rolling and my legs buckled under me. But the hill didn't budge. It was solid.

I was devastated. But not as much as Jack was.

"So then…you _are_ just another one…" He turned away.

I was pissed, to say the least. How _dare_ anything keep him ignorant of my feelings. Suddenly, the years of suppressing and denying broke and let fly a flood of emotions.

"Now you listen to me! I most certainly _am_ the one you have in mind! I _am_ the girl who has those feelings for you, and took me all those years to accept it! So now, if you don't know, then _both_ of us will be miserable until the _end_ of our days and it'll be _all my FAULT!!!_"

He was stunned. Completely bowled over by my outburst.

"Did you know you get _very_ scary-looking when you're angry?" he asked when the effect wore off.

I relaxed.

"Yeah, that's me. The 'Pumpkin Queen'," I said sarcastically.

A bunch of villagers surrounded us as we walked into town. They were officially afraid of me. Apparently they felt something creepy around me and acted as they did around Jack, except it was the male townspeople fawning over _me_. Weird!

Suddenly, the town clock chimed. Three bongs. I looked up. It was midnight.

Jack looked worried and stared at my face. I looked at him, too. Somehow, I felt the place dissipating around me. Five more bongs.

We grasped hands. I tried to talk to him, but the words were caught in my throat.

"Jack…I never told you…my name's-…"

I heard three more bongs as he followed my sentence.

"Goodbye Jaq…I'll see you someday…"

The scene was gone. I blacked out.


End file.
